Copyright © November 2021 Larry Johnson
A topic of discussion that arises from time to time in the circles of the Christian faithful is the speculation of what Heaven will be like, and likewise, the ravages of Hell. A little later I will discuss the latter. In terms of detail, it is true that we that we know little of Heaven, except that the blessed will be one with God and that it will be infinitely better than traversing our way on this Earth. However, it is always interesting and sometimes consoling to imagine what life will be like in Paradise. We believe that on the day of final judgement those who have passed from this world in the Lord’s favour will, as was the case in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, have their bodies restored to them in glorified form. Hence, as we are corporeal beings, it makes sense that Heaven will include rather tangible endeavours; otherwise, it may as well be a matter of assuming a purely spiritual form.
The notion therefore often occurs to me that these corporeal activities would inevitably be of a Godly nature; that much of the worldly pursuits that we now undertake will not at all be apt. This is not to say that all we participate in on the Earth is necessarily bad, but there are somethings that do not really appear proper to the higher spiritual plane. For example, it would seem implausible that Saints and Angels gather to watch a football game. The thought of physical collisions and use of force does not really seem consistent with Heavenly activity. Again, the notion of popular music appears foreign to the blessedness of Heaven; at the very least the crass lyrics that often accompany the music being entirely unacceptable in a place of purity. Indeed, we may go further and question the necessity for 240v electricity, or your countries equivalent, to charge the iPhone or Android. I am prepared to stand corrected should I be fortunate enough to attain Heaven, but I am fairly confident that these and other like devices will be left behind and consigned to oblivion. What activities could there be then? Perhaps we should look to the more noble and simple activities; possibly those concerned with creating things for the glory of God, accompanied by the pure enjoyment of it: art, woodwork, music etc., without of course the need for power tools and electrified instruments – hand tools and acoustic instruments the more probable.
Furthermore, we can consider interaction with animals, trees, flowers etc. The Letter of St Paul to the Romans is pertinent in this regard:
‘For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God.’ (Romans 8: 19-22)[i]
One of my favourite passages within the Bible is in Chapter 22 of the Book of Revelation. When feeling despondent, discouraged or even just weary, I find it of great consolation: returning me to peaceful reflection and providing hope. It reads thus:
‘Then He showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of nations. There shall be no more anything accursed, but the Throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall worship Him; they shall see His Face and His name shall be on their foreheads. And night shall be no more; they need no more light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they shall reign for ever and ever.’ (Revelation 22: 1-5)[ii]
We must understand that anything is possible to God. I have made comment in another essay that we should not place limitations on God. Whatever God wishes Heaven to be for us, then so shall it be. If God wishes that we should have a pet dog, lamb, or lion then God can so create. Of course, all this speculation may appear superfluous, the main concern is that we reach the eternal reward of Heaven. But we are human, and our inquisitiveness is ever-present. I consider it not detrimental to undertake occasional reflection provided we not let our imagination abscond into excess.
In any case we know that they who attain Heaven will be one with God; congregating with the saints and praising God eternally; eternally living in a state of perpetual love, purity, peace, joy, and ever-increasing knowledge of God. No hurt, pain, disappointment, discouragement, or fear. No anger, bickering, anxiety or depression. Everything beautiful and imperishable.
Hitherto we have skimmed over some pleasant thoughts of what Heaven could be like and therefore it seems a shame to spoil the mood with the consideration of Hell. However, the essay’s title is ‘Heaven and Hell,’ and the idea is to juxtapose the two; and I urge the reader onward. For if the beauty of Heaven encourages one to struggle for its attainment, then the ugliness of Hell will also be motivation to strive for Heaven. There have been images shown to Christian visionaries, many approved by ecclesiastical authority, revealing the ravages of Hell and the sins that have led many to perish there. We hear of fire, never-ending pain, hideousness etc. In summary we can state with confidence that it is the direct opposite of all that we would find in Heaven. Eternal anger, anxiety, depression, violence, abuse, and of course total loss of God. Even if you do not believe in these visions or locutions, it is exceedingly logical that Hell is the converse of Heaven. After all, Heaven is for those who have done their best to follow the will of God: Hell for those that have rejected that will of God in preference to their own choices and/or the lure of Satan.
It is not my business here, and indeed no one else’s, to state who goes to Hell and who does not; such determination relying on the repentance of the sinner for their sins and the justice of God. However, I can say – as the Catholic Church used to phrase so appropriately – that some, or indeed many, are placing themselves in grave danger of plummeting to this destination. Sadly, we hear cases where the individual has actively chosen Hell over Heaven. It is hard to comprehend why, given each destination’s characteristics. But I have a theory that those who choose works of evil over works of good may have a misconstrued notion of what their place will be in Hell. The thought may be that their evil deeds on this Earth may lead to a prestigious position in the netherworld. This is surely misguided. The reality is that Satan and his cohorts hate God and humans. Christian tradition posits that Satan rebelled against God with the revelation that humanity’s redemption would be attained through a man – Jesus Christ, Second Person of the Holy Trinity. The devil and his allies were too proud to have a man placed above their station and they rebelled. They know that Heaven is eternal peace, love, and happiness. They are vindictive: and as they are forever condemned, they seek to destroy any hope of our happiness and drag us to their own eternal punishment. They are, among other things, con artists. As stated previously they hate us so they lure us with the notion that Hell is a worthy end, but once there, those who have chosen that road will find betrayal. Rather than attain ‘prestigious status,’ it is more likely that they will be hated, laughed at, ridiculed, abused, and beaten by demons from one end of Hell to the other – for eternity. It is also likely that whereas in Heaven the love we had for the other will be magnified and hate excluded, in Hell ill feelings toward the other will be amplified and love totally annihilated.
There are those as well that I believe languidly regress into Hell. These are the people that tacitly oppose God. Perhaps choosing a life of luxury or comfort lived at the expense or ignorance of others, but nonetheless believing that salvation is assured. They may consider it feasible that everyone goes to Heaven no matter what they do, or that they may be ignorant of their iniquity. Regarding the latter, the Catholic Church defines the terms of vincible and invincible ignorance. Apropos this consideration, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that it is vincible where the ignorance is ‘…imputed to personal responsibility. This is the case when a man “takes little trouble to find out what is true and what is good, or when conscience is by degrees almost blinded through the habit of committing sin.”[iii] In such cases, the person is culpable for the evil he commits.’[iv]
Regarding invincible ignorance the same catechism states:
‘If – on the contrary – the ignorance is invincible, or the moral subject is not responsible for his erroneous judgement, the evil committed by the person cannot be imputed to him. It remains no less an evil, a privation, a disorder. One must therefore work to correct the errors of moral conscience.’[v]
Now you may say that “I don’t belong to the Catholic Church, so this doesn’t apply to me.” I have stated in the Sunday Dilemma that Jesus Christ founded one church. This is the church that has been extant since the time of Christ. Other Christian churches have splintered from the Catholic Church. The Reformation leading to a plethora of denominations in the past five hundred years. Regardless of its human foibles, the direct bond to Christ is through the Catholic Church. I also stated in the essay Sunday Dilemma that all Christian denominations have a duty to be committed disciples of Christ. I wrote of ‘cheap grace’ as defined by the Lutheran minister Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Furthermore, it can be said that a failure to even search for the truth may be considered a rejection of God. If we say we are too busy to consider the notion, or we believe we are too intelligent to consider the possibility of God, we have hence made our rejection.
As I have stated Heaven and Hell are as opposite as one could imagine. As juxtaposed as fire and ice. I know which destination I would prefer. Finally, for those that are adamant that there is no God, no Heaven, no Hell, I include the consideration of Blaise Pascal’s (philosopher of the 17th Century) wager. Pascal posited that people wager with their lives as to whether God exists or not. If one believes that there is no after-life and but in fact it is true, then their behaviour will determine eternal happiness or eternal pain. If there is no after-life, then there is no gain or loss. For those that believe that everyone is saved, I will leave you with the words of Jesus Christ from the Gospels of Luke and Matthew:
‘He [Jesus] went on His way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying towards Jerusalem. And someone said to Him, “Lord, will those that are saved be few?” And He said to them. “Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and not be able”.’[vi] (Luke 13: 22- 24).
‘“Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those that enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life [eternal life], and those who find it are few”.’[vii] (Matthew 7: 13-14).
We should continue to remind ourselves that eternity has no end. There will be no turning back from the allocated destination – forever.
[i] The Didache Bible, Ignatius Bible Edition, Copyright © 2014 – 2019, Rev. James Socias.
[ii] Ibid
[iii] Gaudium et Spes (16), The Documents of Vatican II © 2009 Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 00120 Citta del Vaticana. Index © 2009 St Paul’s Publications.
[iv] English translation of The Catechism of the Catholic Church for Australia copyright ©1994 (1791), St Paul’s/Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
[v] Ibid (1793)
[vi] The Didache Bible, Ignatius Bible Edition, Copyright © 2014 – 2019, Rev. James Socias.
[vii] Ibid
